---
title: "This Is What It’s Like to Be a VIP at the McLaren-Renault F1 Garage"
description: "The unique 360-degree video experience brings you as close as you'll ever get to the McLaren F1 garage."
date: "2018-03-17"
modified: "2018-03-17"
authors:
  - name: "Jerry Perez"
    job_title: "Deputy Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/19342/this-is-what-its-like-to-be-a-vip-at-the-mclaren-renault-f1-garage"
categories:
  - "F1"
  - "News"
  - "Racing"
tags:
  - "360 video"
  - "Fernando Alonso"
  - "Formula 1"
  - "mclaren"
  - "McLaren-Renault"
  - "racing"
  - "VIP"
---

# This Is What It’s Like to Be a VIP at the McLaren-Renault F1 Garage

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/03/ug3lnwuyt6hhamqtorihzhz6qarqndfh__r3i7668.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Unless you're Paris Hilton, Jay-Z, [Arnold Schwarzenegger](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/7097/arnold-schwarzenegger-reveals-electric-mercedes-benz-g-wagon>), or a Middle Eastern Prince whose dad has deep ties in the world of motorsports, you'll most likely never get to stand inside a Formula 1 garage during a Grand Prix weekend. Thankfully, cutting-edge video technology is bringing us an experience that's not quite as visceral as the real deal, but it's probably the next best thing.

This [video](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PXUfnzlOzI>) pioneered by McLaren and Sky Sports F1 is none other than a minute-long 360-degree video experience of the team's garage during the recent pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain. Sure, there are other 360-degree videos out there of Formula 1 cars driving on tracks, but this specific one actually takes you inside the garage while the cars are being worked on and the drivers debriefed.

https://youtube.com/embed/0PXUfnzlOzI

See as Fernando Alonso talks to his engineers about the MCL33's performance on the track, and then hops back in for another round of tests after the desired changes have been performed. Of course, as we already know, McLaren was [the worst-performing team](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18784/alonsos-mclaren-renault-makes-it-6-laps-into-the-pre-season-test>) in Barcelona, suffering five major breakdowns and going through several [Renault engines](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18573/heres-the-first-firing-of-mclarens-new-renault-powered-f1-car>).

Shockingly enough, Alonso put on his superhero cape (as he typically does) to save the morale of the team and managed to clock in the second-fastest lap time on the very last day of testing, lapping only a few tenths behind Ferrari's [Kimi Raikkonen](<https://www.thedrive.com/start-finish/17875/ferraris-kimi-raikkonen-goes-ice-karting-in-the-swiss-alps>).

The first race of the 2018 Formula 1 season will take place in sunny Melbourne, Australia in just a week's time.

## Author
Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/drive_jerry/>)